Bus clip and bus strip

ABSTRACT

A clip operable to connect an electrical terminal post with a bus strip comprises: A. A CHANNEL SECTION HAVING OPPOSED ARMS BETWEEN WHICH THE BUS STRIP IS RECEIVABLE, B. AND A GENERALLY HOOK SHAPED SECTION INTEGRAL WITH ONE OF SAID ARMS, SAID HOOK SHAPED SECTION CONTAINING AN OPENING TO PASS SAID TERMINAL POST EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID ONE ARM.

United States Patent [191 Walter et al.

[ 1 Nov. 11, 1975 BUS CLIP AND BUS STRIP [75] Inventors: Leo Walter, Palos Verdes Peninsula;

. Helmut W. Greul, Malibu, both of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Electronics Stamping Corporation,

Gardena, Calif.

[22] Filed: Sept. 6, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 503,674

[52] US. Cl. 339/19; 174/72 B; 339/22 B [51] Int. Cl. H01R 31/08 [58] Field of Search 174/72 B; 339/19, 22 R, 339/22 B, 256 R, 258 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,997,685 8/1961 Anderson 339/22 B 3,609,634 9/1971 Hovanian 339/19 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Malco, Wrapost Jumper Clips Nos. 2612040 and 3610070, Advertisement 1964.

Primary E.\'aminerRoy Lake Assistant ExaminerMark S. Bicks Attorney, Agent, or Firm Wil1iam W. Haefliger [57] ABSTRACT A clip operable to connect an electrical terminal post with a bus strip comprises:

a. a channel section having opposed arms between which the bus strip is receivable,

b. and a generally hook shaped section integral with one of said arms, said hook shaped section containing an o enin to ass said terminal 0st extendin P g P P 8 generally parallel to said one arm.

11 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nbv. 11, 1975 BUS CLIP AND BUS STRIP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to bus connections to wire wrap terminals, and more particularly concerns the provision of a clip operable to connect a wire wrap post to a bus strip in unusually advantageous manner.

Prior bus connections to wire wrap terminals suffered many inherent disadvantages. These included lack of desired flexibility of selective connection of the post to the bus; bulkiness of the connection, need for new tooling for making different connection progressions along the strip; and lack of ease of assembly, disassembly and reassembly. To my knowledge, no way was known to overcome these and other disadvantages, prior to the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION v,

It is a major object of the invention to provide a compact bus clip and bus strip overcoming the above prob lems and also providing many additional advantages as will appear. Basically, the clip is operable to connect an electrical terminal post to .a bus strip, and comprises:

a. a channel section having opposed arms between which the bus strip is receivable, it

b. and a generally hookshaped section integral with one of said arms,.said hook shaped section containing an opening to pass said terminal post extending generally parallel to said one arm. I

As will appear, the arms preferably extend longitudinally upwardly so as, to receive the bus strip downwardly therebetween, and the..post passing opening is preferably located proximate the top of the hook shaped section, oneedge of that opening located in approximate alignment with one of the arms so that, the post will extensively contact the latter; also the hook shaped section preferably includes an S-shaped tang having a channel shaped cross section to receive one side of the post in such a way as to confine the post and urge it toward full and effective contact with the arm, as described.

Additional advantages include interlocking of the bus strip and clip to permit release of the clip from the strip as may be desired; and multiple dimples on the strip to interact with the clip as will be described.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention as well as the details of an illustrative embodiment will be more fully understood from the following description and drawings, in which:

DRAWING DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a frontal elevation;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation taken in section on lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the clip shown in FIGS. 1-3; and

FIG. 5 is a section through the strip seen in FIGS. l3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the drawings, the clip as illustrated includes a channel section 100 having opposed longitudinally upstanding arms 11 and 12 between which the bus strip 13 is receivable. The latter has a generally rectangular cross section and is vertically elongated, as shown. The clip may with unusual advantage consist of Berillium copper, and be heat treated for strength. Its overall height H is typically less than 0.25 inch, one height dimension of unusual advantage beingabout 0.130 inch, giving a maximum length for wire wrapping on interfitting electrical terminal post 14. Strip 13 may be about 0.025 inch in width and about 0.075 inch in height.

The'clip also includes a generally hook-shaped section 10b integral with one of the arms, as for example the upper extent 12a of arm 12. Section 10b extends arcuately upwardly and laterally forwardly at 15 to slightly overhang the space 16' between arms 11 and 12, then upwardly and laterally rearwardly at 16, then downwardly and laterally rearwardly at 17, then downwardly and laterally forwardly at 18 toward arm 12, and then downwardly and laterally rearwardly at 19 away from arm 12. The arcuate extents 15, 16 and 17 are preferably circularly curvedfwith outward convexity, and the arcu'ate extents 18 and 19 have outward concavity. Also, the sections'17, 18 and 19 define a tang with generally S-shaped curvature. The tang is resiliently supported by circular curved sections 15 and 16 so as to be resiliently deflected to FIG. 3 condition upon interfitting reception of the post. I It will also be noted the hook-shaped section contains a top opening 20 to pass the post, as better seen in FIG. 1. For this purpose a horizontal and downward cut may be made in curvedsections 16 and 17, reducing the widths of such sections well below the overall width of the clip, facilitating the resilient support of the S- shaped tang, as described, as by two spaced and curved portions of sections 16 and 17. Note that the forward edge 20a of the opening is located in longitudinally vertical alignment with arm 12 as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4. The S-shaped tang has a channel shaped cross section at 22 laterally opposite arm 12 to receive one side of the post when the oppositeside of the latter engages the arm 12 as also seen in FIG. 3. Note that prior to post insertion, the forward extents 19a of the tang lower section 19 extend proximate or engage the rearward side of the arm 12, as is clear from FIG. 4, and the recess 22a defined by the channel shaped cross section facilitates endwise guided reception of the post between the tang and the arm 12, and through the opening 20, especially in view of the normally very small size of the clip. Note the full and extensive electrical and mechanical contact between the post and arm at interface 30, the tang urging the post flatly against arm.

The channel shaped section 10a of the clip normally closely receives the bus strip, as seen in FIGS. l-3, between arms 11 and 12; further, the clip and strip may advantageously have interlocking tongue and groove interfit. For this purpose, a boss or dimple 24 on the strip is receivable into a recess formed by the other arm 11 upon relatively downward reception of the strip into space 16 between the arms 11 and 12. The recess may be defined by a lateral through opening 26 in arm 11, and the boss or dimple on the strip may have a leading edge defining a cam shoulder 24a tapered in the downward direction so as to facilitate resilient temporary spreading of arm 11 away from arm 10 as the strip is urged downwardly into space 16. Upon completion of recpetion of the strip into space 16 as seen in FIG. 3, the boss or dimple is fully received into recess 26, and arm 11 springs back into place. Conversely, arm 11 may be pulled forwardly to release the strip.

Multiple spring clips may be rapidly assembled onto a boss strip as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, and multiple wirewrap posts 14 received by such clips. Such posts are preferably polygonal (such as square) in cross section to present edges for making good contact with wire turns wrapped about the posts.

Additional advantages of the strip and clip over known devices include: greater maximum current carrying capacity; minimum overall height; capability for interfit at selected or varying intervals along the strip; capability for quick assembly, disassembly and reassembly by a fabricator to accommodate to his needs; obviates the need for new tooling for each different progression of clips on a bus strip; each part can be separately plated; the strip may be relatively heavy to enable carrying greater current for the same loss; the strip can be easily produced with bosses or dimples at varying and selected spacing; the strip 13 can be fabricated from square, round or rectangular cross section stock, or from bare, plated or insulated metal; and the strip can be produced in continuous or selected lengths.

We claim:

1. In a clip operable to connect an electrical terminal post with a bus strip,

a. a channel section having upwardly extending, laterally spaced and opposed arms between which the bus strip is receivable,

b. and a generally hook shaped section integral with one of said arms, said hook shaped section including a tang extending downwardly at the lateral side of said one arm opposite the other arm of the channel shaped section, the tang also laterally aligned with said other arm, said hook shaped section containing an opening to pass said terminal post in vertically oriented relation between said tang and said one arm.

2. The clip of claim 1 wherein said arms extend longitudinally upwardly, and said opening is located proximate the top of said hook shaped section to pass said post in longitudinally vertically directed orientation.

3. The clip of claim 2 wherein one edge of said opening is in longitudinal alignment with the outer face of said one arm, and said tang has S-shape and a channel shaped cross-section to receive one side of the post when the opposite side of the post engages said one arm.

4. The combination that includes the clip of claim 3 and said post extending longitudinally through said opening, said hook-shaped section and post extending in closely interfitting relation.

5. The combination that includes the clip of claim 1 and said bus strip closely received in said channel section. I

6. The combination that includes the clip of claim 1, said post received in said opening to closely interfit said hook shaped section, and including said bus strip closely received in said channel section.

7. The combination of claim 5 wherein said bus and said channel section have interlocking tongue and groove interfit.

8. The combination of claim 7 including a boss on the bus strip received in a recess formed by the other of the channel section arms.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said boss has an edge that defines a cam shoulder tapered in the direction of reception of the bus strip into the space bea tween the arms.

10. The combination that includes multiple like clips as defined in claim 1, and said bus strip closely received in the clip channel sections.

11. The combination of claim 10 wherein said bus and said channel sections have interlocking tongue and groove interfit. 

1. In a clip operable to connect an electrical terminal post with a bus strip, a. a channel section having upwardly extending, laterally spaced and opposed arms between which the bus strip is receivable, b. and a generally hook shaped section integral with one of said arms, said hook shaped section including a tang extending downwardly at the lateral side of said one arm opposite the other arm of the channel shaped section, the tang also laterally aligned with said other arm, said hook shaped section containing an opening to pass said terminal post in vertically oriented relation between said tang and said one arm.
 2. The clip of claim 1 wherein said arms extend longitudinally upwardly, and said opening is located proximate the top of said hook shaped section to pass said post in longitudinally vertically directed orientation.
 3. The clip of claim 2 wherein one edge of said opening is in longitudinal alignment with the outer face of said one arm, and said tang has S-shape and a channel shaped cross-section to receive one side of the post when the opposite side of the post engages said one arm.
 4. The combination that includes the clip of claim 3 and said post extending longitudinally through said opening, said hook-shaped section and post extending in closely interfitting relation.
 5. The combination that includes the clip of claim 1 and said bus strip closely received in said channel section.
 6. The combination that includes the clip of claim 1, said post received in said opening to closely interfit said hook shaped section, and including said bus strip closely received in said channel section.
 7. The combination of claim 5 wherein said bus and said channel section have interlocking tongue and groove interfit.
 8. The combination of claim 7 including a boss on the bus strip received in a recess formed by the other of the channel section arms.
 9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said boss has an edge that defines a cam shoulder tapered in the direction of reception of the bus strip into the space between the arms.
 10. The combination that includes multiple like clips as defined in claim 1, and said bus strip closely received in the clip channel sections.
 11. The combination of claim 10 wherein said bus and said channel sections have interlocking tongue and groove interfit. 